The present invention is described in greater detail in the following non-limiting Examples. Services, such as telecommunications or other data services, may be billed on a “pay-per-use” basis. For example, a customer may be charged a rate per minute for the use of long distance telephone service or an amount may be charged for a given number of minutes of use. Video or audio media may be obtained by a customer for a fee based on the quantity of the media that is received. Customers are typically billed periodically for such services, such as with monthly billing. In order to monitor the usage of a particular service, the customer may track the amount of service that he or she uses. If the customer does not track the amount of services used or is incorrect about the amount of services used, the customer may receive a bill for services that is larger than expected at the end of a billing cycle.
It may be difficult or inconvenient for a customer to accurately track how much service is being used. Customers may also receive several types of services through more than one communications system or service provider. The number of services received by a customer can add to the difficulty in tracking the monetary charges that the customer can expect at the end of a billing cycle. In addition, several members of a household or business unit may share the same billing account, and tracking usage by several different members of the household or business may require coordination between members that is difficult or not practical.